NPP Kozloduy to Sell Electricity Abroad without Intermediaries
(Sofia Jan 5, 2013) - The management of Bulgaria's NPP Kozloduy will apply to the State Energy and Waters Regulatory Commission for a full license to sell its electricity to end-users abroad, NPP Kozloduy CEO Valentin Nikolov said.
Presently, NPP Kozloduy uses intermediary companies to sell its output to end-users in several EU member states, including Germany and Austria.
"At the beginning of next week I am going to...

Bulgaria to Pay EUR 879 M on Foreign Debt in 10 Days
The next bonds maturity dates are in 2015 and 2017
(Sofia, Jan 5, 2012) - EUR 879,849,875 ? this is the sum that Bulgaria is to pay on its foreign debt on January 15th, 2013, the finance ministry said.
Thus, Bulgaria will fully pay off the emission of Eurobonds with a 7.5-percent interest, emitted in 2002 by Milen Velchev, finance minister in the Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-led Cabinet.
So as to pay off this loan, the Bulgarian...

Finmin Djankov: Some incomes will increase in 2013
(Sofia, Jan 5) - "The Financial 2012 finished better than expected," Bulgaria's Finmin Simeon Djankov commented for the Bulgarian National Television (BNT).
"Due to overfulfilment of the revenues by the National Revenue agency and Customs agency, the budget deficit for 2012 is by 3 times less than planned and this will allow an additional increase of some of the incomes in 2013," Mr Djankov stated.
At this stage Finmin Djankov...

Nearly BGN four million have been wired Friday for salaries of workers at Bulgaria's State-owned arms manufacturer, VMZ Sopot.
The news was announced by Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, at an emergency briefing at the Council of Ministries building. He declared the workers will receive the entire amount of their overdue pay.
It was further reported that Borisov is meeting Friday with the Presidents of the two main trade unions in the country – Konstantin Trenchev of the Confederation of...

Czech-owned power utility CEZ has always strictly adhered to Bulgarian legislation and the normative acts of the European Union, the company says in a press release.
According to its press office, for the electric power distributor, part of CEZ Bulgaria Group, obeying the law, including tax law, was a guiding principle that should not even be commented on.
The statement comes on the heels of news that the prosecution in Bulgaria has requested the revocation of the company's license over...

Bulgaria has marked a 10% increase in EU funds absorption over the first 5 months of 2015, according to a statement made available through a specialized Directorate to the Bulgarian Council of Ministers.
According to the data, 77,45% of the funds have been absorbed by end May 2015 as compared to 67,4% by end 2014. Regardless of the overall good pace in EU fund implementation, it will still not suffice for Bulgaria to surpass 85% by the end of the year.
The report further shows that since...

The European Commission said on March 26 that it had opened an infringement procedure against Bulgaria on what the commission termed investor restrictions for agricultural land.
The announcement said that infringement procedures also had been opened against Hungary, Lithuania and Slovakia on the same grounds.
Bulgaria has legislated restrictions on the sale of agricultural land to non-EU foreign individuals and companies, although the country recently backtracked on a provision for huge...

Sofia. “Sofia is an example of successful multi-financing,” Minister for Regional Development and Public Works Lilyana Pavlova said during the EUROCITIES Forum, a reporter of FOCUS News Agency announced.
"After Bulgaria's EU accession the Regional Development OP provided for resource of about BGN 400 million for integrated public transport. When we started to manage, yet we had no vision of how to do this. With the help of the European Commission was created a unit for integrated public...

Companies should take advantage of EU finding under the new OP Innovations and Competitiveness as a means to start and develop their business and not rely on it permanently, said Economy Minister Bozhidar Lukarski in an interview with Bulgaria on Air.
Following April 20 applications will be accepted under the first axis of the OP – Improvement of the Production Capacity of SMEs. The total funding earmarked under the axis is EUR 150 million, while the companies which fail to achieve the...

"Information we discussed will be gathered and used entirely in formal matters. What is important is that we today formulated some questions to the State Agency for National Security (SANS)," said MP Desislava Atanasova, Chairperson of the parliamentary ad-hoc committee in charge of investigating the case of Corporate Commercial Bank (CorpBank), speaking after a sitting of the committee, which lasted for some 3 and a half hours, FOCUS News Agency reported.
"The SANS Chairperson was here, as...

“After the financial crisis, it was the crisis in Ukraine. No one can choose their parents and neighbours,” Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov said speaking at the first national discussion within the “Yes! To Bulgarian Economy” held in the capital city Sofia, FOCUS News Agency reporter said.
“You see what happened in Greece, Serbia, Macedonia, Albania and Romania. Life taught me to be patient. In the other countries, speaking of the freedom of the media, it refers to the governments and...

The Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB) and the International Investment Bank (IIB) will cooperate in providing funds for Bulgarian business projects. This became clear after the two financial institutions signed a Memorandum of Cooperation in Sofia on Tuesday, the press office of the BDB informs. The memorandum governs the granting of syndicated loans to Bulgarian companies interested in developing their business and making new investments. According to the provisions of the memorandum, the two...

"We all realise the financial difficulties yet security has not price," said Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev, delivering at the plenary hall an address to the National Assembly, FOCUS News Agency reported.
The President summarised the results from his talks with the parliamentary political forces in the frames of the traditional Month of Political Consultations.
"Basic competences are needed for everyone. Quality education is a product of political agreement. The focus on decreasing...

Greece should follow the example set by neighboring Bulgaria and introduce a flat tax, according to Forbes magazine.
Echoing the opinion of Steve Forbes, the 64-year-old publisher of the magazine, the article argues that the lack of decline in Greek government spending is due to general economic uncertainty, as well as the effects of the large tax rate increases on an already-overtaxed private sector.
"Bulgaria has a flat tax system with a 10% income tax rate and a 10% corporate tax rate....

Bulgaria's fiscal reserve increased to reach BGN 6.5 M after the successful sovereign bond issue, Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, has boasted.
According to Djankov, by the end of July, when the country must make obligatory payments to the EU, the reserve will reach BGN 7 M.
The Minister showed to the media a thick folder, saying it contained all documents about the deal that will be provided to the Members of the Parliament, who can check them in the library of the Finance...

Fitch rating agency has affirmed the long-term issuer default ratings of three mid-sized Bulgarian banks.
The banks are Societe Generale Express Bank AD (SGE) and Allianz Bank Bulgaria AD (ABB) at 'BBB+' with a Stable Outlook.
Fitch has also maintained MKB UnionBank AD's (MKBU) Long term IDR of 'BBB+' on Rating Watch Negative (RWN).
At the same time, the agency has affirmed ProCredit Bank (Bulgaria) AD's (PCB) Long-term IDR at 'BB+' with a Stable Outlook and upgraded PCB's Viability...

Bulgaria's success in floating EUR 950 M worth of five-year bonds last week at a yield of only 4.25% comes close to the price higher-rated Lithuania achieved earlier this year, the finance minister has boasted.
The Lithuanian government raised EUR 400 M on international markets in April 2012 after issuing a euro-denominated bond with 4.21% yield.
"It is important to point out however that Lithuania enjoys a higher credit rating than Bulgaria's," Finance Minister Simeon Djankov...

Ten years after Bulgaria last appeared on the international capital market, the country made a successful comeback, but the biggest test is yet to come, according to analysts.
Bulgaria could have achieved an even better interest rate, but deliberately underestimated its prospects to please investors and lure them to subsequent issues, according to sources, cited by the local media.
Bulgaria tapped last week international markets to raise funds to repay the first tranche of about EUR 835 M...

The privatization process for VMZ Sopot, Bulgaria's largest defense industry plant, is to be launched Tuesday, according to Energy and Economy Minister Delyan Dobrev.
In a Thursday interview, he stressed that the state could no longer afford to seek money to pay the salaries of the plant's workers every other month, which was why it would go private.
Dobrev explained that the privatization strategy adopted by Parliament in 2011 envisaged a commitment for the buyer to keep the plant's...

Bulgaria has set pricing on its euro-denominated, benchmark-size, five-year bond in the area of 350 basis points over midswaps, one of the banks running the deal said Monday.
BNP Paribas, HSBC, and Raiffeisen Bank International (RAIFY) are the lead managers on the issue, which is expected to price later Monday.
Bulgaria is rated Baa2 by Moody's Investor Services and BBB by Standard and Poor's Corp. Bulgaria was last in the euro-denominated bond market in 2002.
Bulgaria started on June...

Bulgarian Finance Minister and Deputy PM Simeon Djankov has made clear his high expectations for the country's upcoming Eurobond float.
"There has been a calming of the international markets since the EU leaders' summit on Friday. Bulgaria will benefit from that because it is about to float Eurobonds," Djankov stated in the Black Sea city of Burgas on Friday, as cited by Dnevnik.
"I expect great news in this respect by the end of next week," he added.
Bulgaria started on June 25 a...

Bulgaria's state budget has come to a positive balance for the first five months of 2012, after May became the second month in a row to register monthly budget surplus, the Bulgarian Finance Ministry announced Tuesday.
According to preliminary data, Bulgaria had a positive monthly budget balance in May 2012 amounting to BGN 284.4 M.
Thus, Bulgaria's budget balance for January-May 2012 has already reached a surplus of BGN 67.4 M, after a monthly surplus of BGN 473.8 M in April 2012.
The...

Bulgaria starts on June 25 a series of investor meetings across Europe ahead of the eurobond issue that the country plans to float this year, one of the banks organizing the meetings said.
Bulgaria's parliament ratified at the beginning of June contracts with BNP Paribas, HSBC and Raiffeisen as mediators for the eurobond issue. The three banks will organize the meetings with investors.
Bulgaria plans to tap international markets to raise funds to repay the first tranche of about EUR 835 M...